FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT NORTHERN IRELAND - PAGE 2

BELFAST (Reuters) - A prison officer was killed in Northern Ireland on Thursday when he drove into a hail of bullets and crashed off a motorway at high speed, in an attack blamed by politicians on militant nationalists. It was the first murder of a prison officer since 1993 and the fifth fatal attack on a member of the security establishment since the 1998 Good Friday peace deal, which largely ended three decades of sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland. The officer worked at the top security Maghaberry Prison where militant nationalists have been protesting against their living conditions.

BELFAST (Reuters) - Marathon talks between the leaders of Northern Ireland's Catholic and Protestant communities broke down on Tuesday without agreement to ease tensions that have led to one of the worst years of rioting in the British province for a decade. The U.S. diplomat chairing the talks said the five largest parties in Northern Ireland failed to reach an agreement during 18 hours of talks that ended shortly before 0500 GMT, the culmination of six months of negotiations. No date was set for the resumption of the talks, which were a response to some of the highest levels of street violence and attacks by militant groups since a peace and power-sharing deal in 1998.

BELFAST (Reuters) - The flame for the London Olympics arrived in Northern Ireland on Saturday in a celebration that would have seemed impossible a generation earlier amid a bloody war between Catholic Irish nationalists and pro-British Protestants. Three decades of sectarian violence cost 3,600 lives before a 1998 peace deal largely ended fighting in the British-controlled province. Britain's Queen Elizabeth last week announced a visit to Northern Ireland in advance for the first time since the 1960s - previous visits were unannounced for security reasons - and the flame's arrival marked another step in attempts to unite the communities.

Jan 10 (Reuters) - Riots broke out in Northern Ireland last month after a vote by mostly pro-Irish councillors to end the century-old tradition of flying the British flag daily from Belfast City Hall. Here is a look the background to Northern Ireland's continuing sectarian divide: * At least 3,600 people were killed over three decades as Catholic nationalists seeking union with Ireland fought British security forces and mainly Protestant loyalists determined to remain part of the United Kingdom.

(Reuters) - Israel kept alive their hopes of qualifying for the World Cup finals with two late goals with a battling performance in a Group F qualifier against Northern Ireland in Belfast on Tuesday. The hosts enjoyed the bulk of possession and threatened the Israeli goal more often, forcing an excellent first-half save from goalkeeper Dudu Aouate before Lior Refaelov broke the deadlock in the 77th minute. The Club Bruges forward picked up a cross from fellow-substitute Eran Zehavi in the area and shot confidently past Roy Carroll in the Northern Ireland goal.

Belfast (Reuters) - A man was charged on Wednesday night with threatening to kill Northern Ireland's First Minister Peter Robinson, as loyalist protests passed off peacefully for the second day in a row following a recent wave of violence across the province. Loyalists have rioted for seven of the last 10 days, and made an attack on police, since a decision by nationalist city councillors earlier this month to remove the British flag from Belfast City Hall, for the first time in a century.

By Ian Graham BELFAST (Reuters) - Northern Ireland turned pink on Friday to welcome the Giro d'Italia to the streets of a province known more for its years of sectarian conflict than as a host of major sporting events. Some 200 of the world's top cyclists will set off in Belfast and race for three days across a province beset by three decades of violence that cost the lives of 3,600 people before a peace deal largely ended the bloodshed 16 years ago. Long starved of such spectacle, thousands packed the streets to cheer on the riders, swapping the traditional orange and green of Northern Ireland's Catholic and Protestant communities for a route awash with pink - the signature color of the Giro, road cycling's second-most prestigious race after the Tour de France.